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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Let's See: Health, Knitting, Weekends, and Kittens*

*not mine

I don't write every single day, but I write here most days, and it feels funny to have missed last night. So where was I? In bed at 8:30 with a headache.

I actually started to feel it around 3 yesterday afternoon. I took a pill, and the pain didn't get very bad, which was a relief both for the obvious reason, and because I really wanted to go to stitch and bitch. I had a nearly-done sock to show off, after all! I'd even treated myself and paid to park at the T, so I wouldn't have to take the bus home to get the car and arrive late, and I wasn't happy to think that I might instead be driving straight home. But at 5, the worst of it was an upset stomach, so I got a ginger ale, went, and had a good time. Unfortunately, after I got home, the headache ramped up. Ugh.

Fortunately, I slept well other than a brief ginger ale break at 2, and today felt tentatively okay (though my stomach is still unsettled, to be honest). Sucks, though. I'm getting frustrated with my body lately. I don't just mean the last few months of gaining and losing the same two pounds over and over (although that? is pissing me off, truly). It's more like this:

A Letter To My Body

Darling,Enough already with the aches and pains. You are carrying 20 pounds fewer than you were in January. You should be grateful, not hurting. The headaches, the right shoulder*, the left wrist**, the right hip***, between the shoulder blades**** ... please stop. I cannot, and will not, cease doing everything that might possibly be causing anything. I can't live in a bubble: it doesn't pay the bills. Help me out here: it's to your own benefit.

*It's been mildly sore for a while. I think it's mostly from carrying the work bag, so I've been trying to carry it more on the left side. Another possible factor is squishing into the seats on the T, since that's surprisingly physically uncomfortable. Not much longer, in either case.

**Back in January/February, I noticed a bump swelling up on my left wrist (not the tendinitis wrist). It's about where you'd put your finger to feel your pulse. The weird part was, it didn't hurt at all. So I watched it, but didn't go to the doctor. A few months ago, I noticed it was smaller than it had been. Then last week, it was a bit bigger. Not hugely different, but enough to catch my eye. Still doesn't hurt. WTH? Do I need to go to the doctor anyway?

***For a few days last week, my right hip was really sore. Did I sleep on it wrong? Who knows. But when I stood up, it took about three steps for me to relearn walking. It's not as bad now, so hopefully it's moving on.

****Might as well call this proofreader's neck. I try not to do all my work leaning forward, but that seems to be what comes naturally. As a result, I sometimes find that I move my neck a certain way and ow!

Also, what about the auras? My migraines have never been classic, never regularly preceded by an aura. The migraines started at puberty and I was in my early 20s before I got the first aura. Just once in a great while (like once or twice a year), the sparklies start on the right side of my vision, and I have to grab for the Excedrin while I can still see. Now, once or twice a year? Fine. But three times in two months? Too much. Please chill out. I was enjoying lunch Friday a lot more before I tried to read something and said, "Wait a minute..."

I'm losing patience, is my point.

love, me

*********In happier news, I have some knitting to show off.

See this?

This is what we in the trade called a finished sock.

I set a personal record here, by a lot: ten days! Holy wow.

From heel......to toes...

I love this sock. The yarn, the pattern, the speed, the fact that it fits! On to sock two.

*********Also in happy news (though not really news per se), I had a very nice weekend. I got a bunch of the usual stuff done, including a shining moment where there was not a single dirty dish or pan waiting to be washed (sadly, this is rare for me). (I successfully resisted the urge to dance around singing.)

Saturday night was dinner with friends, great to see them, good Indian food, strangely spotty service but no matter. It seems to me, on the few occasions when I eat out, that the restaurants aren't as crowded as I expect. Probably due to the economy, and it sucks for the restaurants, but it's nice not to be rushed, isn't it? Have you noticed the same thing?

Anyway! Weekend! Sunday afternoon was a gathering of friends that was such fun. There was hanging around chatting (and knitting, in my case), good food, good people, and I got some serious baby-holding-time with a 9-month-old who was super-cute. Really a practically perfect afternoon.

*********Then there was happy news for this coming weekend, which is a long weekend for Labor Day here in the US. (I do find it funny that we celebrate "Labor" Day by not laboring, but I'm not complaining.)

I'm going to the Cape! That's Cape Cod, if you're not from around here. And if you have time to cross your fingers for me this week, please cross them and wish that Hurricane Earl doesn't mess it up too much. Currently, the forecast is 70s and mostly sunny for the weekend on the Cape, but as we all know, that could change.

*********Someone near me at work this afternoon saw a mouse, and while that is a really good reason to shriek in the workplace, she made a very loud noise out of nowhere. I was tensed up for quite a few minutes after.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Knitting Revealed, Knitting Progressing

This weekend, I gave my friend her birthday present, the surprise knitting project that I mentioned in passing here. Which means I can show it here now!

I made her a Baktus scarf, using the Lollipop Cabin yarn I bought almost a year ago (info at the end of the Rhinebeck 09 yarn post), and not only was I pleased with how it turned out, so was she, which is much more important!

I can't actually say I loved working with the yarn (I wouldn't get it again). I had to pull out bits of straw here and there, and guard hairs, and it wasn't particularly soft (it did soften a bit with washing). Just not my style. But I loved the colors, which are subtle but especially striking in sunlight.

And it should be nice and warm! Which seems funny today, when it was hot, but will be nice for her in the cold months.

Here are some progress pictures.

With phone for scale.

On lap, at lunch, with camera shadow.

I made it almost completely on the T, and at lunchtimes.

Done!

I'm glad it turned out well, and that it's done! Meanwhile, my sock continues to fly along. Seriously, I started it last Sunday, and look at this:

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Knitting and Sun: Two Great Tastes...

Yay for sunshine! Your mood-improving powers are awesome. It wasn't 100% sunny today, but it was So Nice anyway. Being outside in the fresh air without being chilly and damp was a pleasant change. Today's weather was back to what we've had most of the summer, with sun and 80-some degrees; it only took four days of 63 degrees and raining for this to feel new and different. And really, after three days of umbrella-wrestling, the task of keeping my skirt from flying too high didn't seem as bad.

During the rainy chill earlier this week, I wasn't going outside at lunchtime, and being able to do so today was wonderful. I practically skipped! I found a bench in the sun, ate while reading, then pulled out my knitting. Sock!

When I took it out this morning on the T, I realized that I was getting really close to the heel. I don't carry my whole knitting tool kit every day, so I didn't have a stitch holder or spare yarn to hold the stitches that aren't part of the heel (to keep them out of the way). I tried to find the other end of the skein, in the middle of my yarn cake, to cut a piece off, and stopped when I was successful only at messing up the yarn. Instead, I improvised:

Paper clips. Look at them, holding the stitches and all. I felt so clever.

I'm also thrilled with how quickly this sock is coming along. I only started it on Sunday! The pattern has just been flowing through my fingers. Unlike some people, I can't knock out a sock in a day; my last pair took months (though it wasn't the only thing I knit during that time, plus there was the tendinitis; but still). Half a sock in less than a week! I'm in love. It's just making me so happy.

Even the pooling is entertaining me. Isn't it funny?

Like attracts like, and green sticks to green, apparently.

Which do you think the average non-knitter finds weirder: me knitting in public, or me taking pictures of my knitting in public?

I had a nice talk with a fellow knitter on the T tonight. She hasn't tried socks yet, and I told her I wasn't much good at getting them to fit, but I mostly enjoy trying. I mentioned that I'd taken a sock-knitting class the first time, but only thought after she got off that I should have told her about our stitch and bitch! Well, maybe the gods will cross our paths again.

Here's the heel, starting.

And will you look at this? It seems to fit.

Quick! Knock wood!

I've been taking an earlier bus this week (gah), as my schedule at work has changed. When I started this job in May, the boss told me that we work a 35-hour week, but will sometimes work 40 if needed. Last week she said that we were now allowed but not required to work the extra at this point, which I think is a nice way of handling it (I'm not a big fan of mandatory*, really; I like choice, or the illusion of it). Of course, I'm perfectly willing to earn a little more money, to bank for the lean season ahead, so I'm adjusting my hours.

*Re-reading that post made me sad that Basically British closed, happy to see those socks again (they've now gone to live with my mother and her smaller-than-mine feet), and amused that I posted about something almost two years ago that I read about again this week. Small world. Plus, of course, Harold. Sigh. My cuddlebuggy.

At first, I thought that I would work later, not earlier, being a total non-morning-person who would prefer to get out of bed at 9 or so. However, on Monday I did get the earlier bus, in order to make it to stitch and bitch at a reasonable time. And you know what? The bus that runs thirty minutes earlier has been markedly less crowded. It's still not fun, but it's not as much of a sardine can as the one I was previously taking. And I think that is worth a little less sleep.

Though it is annoying that on this schedule, the newspaper is often not delivered in time for me to read it with breakfast (it's supposed to be there by 6, but it often isn't quite; this morning it was 6:30, when I was getting ready for the shower). However, for 5 more weeks I expect I can handle that.

I had pasta for dinner last night, and as I put on the sauce and some parm, I thought suddenly, "You know what would be great on this? Fresh basil! Let me slip on my shoes and go downstairs to pick some!" It was a happy moment. I'm going to do it again tonight.

I had to take a picture of this one the other day. Something tells me that someone wasn't watching what they were doing.

In closing, I like cats. And I like having my camera to hand when they are being cute.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Oh, vat vader

So it turns out that day three* of a commute in the pouring rain is when I start to lose my shit. Goodness, how annoying this morning was! The rain and the puddles and the wind and the traffic, the splashing and the dampness of everything. I usually put my bag on the floor on the T, but not on a rainy day, so trying to knit over the bag on my lap is challenging (but yes, I still knit; even awkwardly, it helps sooth me).

*It's actually day four of the rain, but since I didn't have to go out on Sunday, it didn't contribute to this frustration.

Plus it appears that the sweater I wore today has a surface just smooth enough that it discourages my shoulder bag from staying on my shoulder. As you might imagine, this repeated slipping off was super-convenient as the wind alternated between tugging my umbrella away from me and turning it inside out.

So I blew into the office damp and disgruntled, to discover that my e-mail and Internet access were not functioning. I will leave my reaction to your imagination. We're getting new phones put in, they were put on the desks last night, and in the end it seemed that one of the cords on mine wasn't clipping in properly. Why this shebanged my computer I don't know, but what a way to start the day.

It also didn't help that I asked a co-worker what the number was for the help desk, and she told me it was 511, "just remember like 911 and 411". Only it didn't work for me, and it turns out, ha ha, that you actually have to dial 5111! Oops! Thanks for the help!

Oy. Definitely wished I'd stayed in bed.

By tonight, it was sprinkling and misting more than raining, and it's "supposed to" clear overnight, and be at least partly sunny tomorrow. Oh, please let it be so. They even say it will be 85, which I want to believe, but given that's 20 degrees warmer than it's been all week, I'm kind of afraid to get my hopes up.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Briefly, after being out late-ish two night in a row

Today was my dad's birthday. He would have been 81. This is probably why I was a little down today; not out-and-out depressed, just kind of blue. Surrounded by strangers, wanting a hug.

But I'm proud of myself! I didn't wallow, I just started thinking about who I know nearby that I'm on hugging terms with, then e-mailed a family friend (my "local mother") in a nearby town to see if they were in tonight. She said yes, and even invited me for dinner (which I was not angling for, but was so nice), so I got my hugs after all. Very comforting.

This time last year, I was with my mother and brother in Florida. I've seen them since then, but I haven't been back there, and it feels kind of odd. For the last few years, I was taking every opportunity to visit, flying down three or four times a year, motivated in large part by Dad's diminishing health, and now I haven't been on a plane in twelve months: weird. Have to get the job situation straightened out, then plan the next trip. Hanging out with mom in the sunshine state sounds really nice.

Primarily the "hanging out with mom" part; I'm certainly not complaining about the summer we've had up here. Compared to last year's non-summer, this year has been paradise, and it's not over yet. There are signs of it coming to an end (leaves starting to change; acorns starting to fall; less light at either end of the day), and the last few days have been startlingly cooler (I wore a sweater today, and boots, while just last Friday my friend and I were discussing if eating our lunch on a park bench in the sun was going to be too hot [it wasn't]). But the warm is supposed to be back in a few days, and I will appreciate every minute of it.

Because time sure whips along, doesn't it? Five weeks from Friday is my end date at this job. And looking at the calendar, one week after that is Apple Festival, and one week after that is Rhinebeck! Crazy.

I have naturally been thinking about Rhinebeck recently, since I am hoping to go again this year; I'm practically positive I'll be able to, though I won't be spending as much money as I did last year. But the experience is the real fun. Still, it's hard to explain the concept of Rhinebeck to outsiders. Something crossed my mind recently that might help: Rhinebeck is like a state fair, but for fiber people*.

*Not just knitters, but also spinners, crocheters, and weavers, as well as all the people producing things to appeal to them. What's not to love?

You have booths for shopping. Displays of prize-winning crafts. Historical information. Animals performing or just being on display. You have lots of food options, mostly unhealthy and delicious. Crowds of (mostly) happy people.

What else says "state fair" to you?

**********Yesterday morning at work, there was a sudden loud outburst from one of my co-workers, which started, "Oh! Oh, pity me! Pity me!" and then moved into an unending string of various expletives. It turned out she'd spilled a cup of coffee everywhere*, so I could understand the volume and even the drama in general, but, "pity me"? Huh?

*On her desk, on the floor, and enough on herself that she went out and bought new trousers. Coffee everywhere, really.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

A Very Random Weekend Wrap-up

I imagine that I get roughly the same amount of stuff done every weekend, headaches permitting, but some weekends don't feel like much got done, while once in a while I feel like a lot got done. This was one of those rare weekends.

Yesterday, I got my laundry done, changed the sheets, finished knitting something (secret a little while longer), washed some dishes, ran a whole bunch of business-and-pleasure errands, it was a beautiful day, what could be better.

Today it's been cool and rainy, so I'm glad I was out yesterday. I made soup and vacuumed, started a new knitting project (so happily! I love knitting), did more dishes, and got tomorrow's lunch ready.

Otherwise this weekend? I read a book (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which was very interesting; though I admit to skimming over some of the science); watched some TV (the first disc of Daria is the latest I have from Netflix); I managed to hit my elbow on a doorknob while vacuuming [ow] and drop a solid glass perfume bottle on my toe [OW!]; and, not coincidentally, I wondered if there's a specific fairy or saint in charge of coordination, that I should be praying to.

Let's see what the pictures show.

Oops, sorry! That's tea leaves. Ignore that. Moving on.

You may recall (though why would you) that after I got my MP3 player last Christmas, I complained about the earphones not wanting to stay in my ears. It's been bothering me ever since, and yes, it's August, your point is? Hey, I've meant to do something about it, I've come close to doing something about it, I've researched it! Just, you know. Didn't actually make a decision. Yet.

Ahem! Anyway. One of my errands yesterday involved stopping at the charming discount store, Building 19, to see if any of the sneakers in their ad might fit my weird old feet (the recently-new ones are still bothering me if I wear them for a few days in a row, sigh). They actually had a couple of pairs in my usual size, 9 and a half, but they didn't fit right, and the next size up was 11, which I didn't even bother trying. The perils of the cheap shopper.

Anyway, I looked around, as one does, to see what else was there, and found a pair of Lands' End jeans that fit for $15, which is well worth the price. While I was waiting in line, I looked around at all the impulse buys, and my eye was caught by some small packages of earphones. Ah, you wondered when I was going to get back to that, didn't you? And for under $5, I decided to take the plunge.

On the left, the ones that came with the player. I've never used my MP3 player while walking around, as so many people do, because I've found that even sitting at my desk, the earphones (especially the right one) would fall out when I sneezed, turned my head, or sometimes when I didn't move at all. Frustrating doesn't begin to cover it.

On the right, the new ones. I walked around, moved my head, even shook it, and they stayed in. It's like a miracle, I tell you!

Apparently, the insides of my ears are shaped less like this:And more like this.Now, knitting! I got this yarn at Rhinebeck last year, and in the Spring I tried to make it be socks. It apparently didn't like the pattern I chose (knitters know that this happens), and after several tries I acknowledged that I was going to end up with too-big socks, and ripped. Here, we try again. Isn't it pretty?

And maybe the extra needles will buy me more elbow room on the T!

Now this picture I took because I liked the plate. I had to Google the sticker above it to the left to learn what it meant, and now I'm wondering at the juxtaposition of the two.

I mean, it could be different moods on different days, but it seems like the person who says "no problem" and the person who says "does it look like I give a fuck" are not the same person.

Carlos had a nap-heavy weekend. How that's different from any other weekend, I couldn't say, but he seemed to be very photogenic.

Look at the paws!Good thing he doesn't know I'm giving blog time to a dog analogy. I think it's a good one, and there isn't a cat equivalent that I can come up with, but all the same I don't think he'd approve.

This one's a plant!

No, I have no idea what. I just noticed its interesting top view. Just one reason I always carry my camera.

I hit a sugar low at work one day, and the Skittles package that I got caught my eye. I have to admit, I was thinking that if I won $10,000, I'd have to buy another pack, because I wanted the Skittles to eat right then!

The inside message was even better.

I'm still not sure that Carlos cares for Miri in the slightest, but as time goes by, he seems to tolerate her more often.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Hope for Happiness to Come; Would You Say Something?

I had quite a grumpy afternoon Tuesday, where nothing major went wrong but there were frustrations and I was cross about work. So when it was time that night to pick up a new book to start (for I must have a book on my commute, in case the T is too hot for knitting, as well as for walking home if I do so), I looked at the pile from the library and chose The Happiness Project. Perhaps it will help me focus on the positive more. (Though I got very annoyed yesterday afternoon as well; but then, I never expected the book to be a magic wand. Today was better.) I'm certainly enjoying it so far, and have flagged some quotes to share when I finish.

My first goal? Well, as simply being cross does not solve most problems, I'd like to be more mindful of my reactions to situations (since often my reaction is the only thing I have control over). An instinctive and usually defensive reaction to an irritant really does no one any good, me included.

"Stop letting your problems plague you" was the message line to a spam e-mail that came through today. Wisdom can be found where you least expect it.

**********Would You Say Something?

I'm guessing that we would all tell a friend if she had something in her teeth, or her shirt was on inside out. But what about a stranger? If you see someone on the street with her slip showing, do you tell her? What about something not so easily fixed, like a stain on clothing? Are you more likely to tell another woman (if you're a woman, that is)?

I started thinking about this recently when I noticed on the way to the T after work that a woman walking ahead of me had what looked like a seam splitting on her dress. It was near her waist, and it wouldn't have been so noticeable if it wasn't for the contrast between the black dress and her white skin, but it really stood out.

I wasn't sure what to say, if anything, because my usual guideline would be "tell if it's fixable*", and what could she do about it? Duck into a store and buy something else to wear? Buy a needle and thread?

*Or, now I think on it, if it's mammothly embarrassing. If you can't convince yourself afterward that no one noticed, you'll wish someone had told you.

Before I got close enough to her to have to decide what I would do, another woman passing her paused and spoke to her, and the woman in question switched her bag from the other side, so it kind of covered the area, or at least made it less obvious. Good answer! I'm still not sure what if anything I would have said. You?

The subcategory of this topic might be called Would You Say Something Rude? There's been a man on the bus recently who has me thinking rude thoughts, and I'm not sure if I haven't said anything because:

I'm a weenie who hates confrontation.

There's no actual rule against acting like a jerk on the bus.

I can't think of exactly the right phrasing to make it crushing.

Here's the setup. Part of the reason I loathe riding the bus is that when it gets very crowded, as it usually does, I get claustrophobic. There are not many places to stand on the bus without being in someone's way. I don't like to move to the very back of the bus, though there are usually still seats available (as well as a little standing room) when I get on, because when we get to the stop where I get off, almost everyone gets off. If you're at the back you're stuck in the crowd for another five minutes stifling a panic attack while everyone files off. Ahem. (I also don't have time to spare, really, if it means missing a train, which it easily could. But the crowding seals the deal.)

Given no seats in the front level, the best place for me to stand is by the back door. There's room for four people to stand there and still let people pass, assuming that one of the people is not leaving room in front of himself for his invisible friend. Which, of course, is what this man has been doing lately, and I'd love to say something snarky to him, though I never will. But if I did, what should I say?

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Seen Around Boston

When I started this job, my manager told me that we work 35-hour weeks, but sometimes will do more. Today she told me that if I want to, I can work extra hours now. I think it's nice that it's optional, not mandatory, but in any case since I have work to do, and like money, I will! But it means getting home an hour later and it's what time already? Didn't I just get home?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

1, Freedom to Be an Ass; 2, the Book and Not the Author

(Warning: I seem to be extra parenthetical and footnote-friendly tonight.)

Part the FirstI read recently about how Target gave a lot of money to a gubernatorial candidate who is strongly anti-gay*, and many people are upset at that, and some are vowing to stop shopping at Target because of it. And I thought, Hmmm.

*And it turns out they've also given money to groups against the anti-gay-marriage Prop 8 in California.

I'm not planning to stop shopping at Target myself*. It's not that I like the cause that guy's supporting, but I feel like he has the right to do what he wants with his money**, even if it's to support something that makes me despair for the future of the country. (It's my variant of the "I hate what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it" theory.) (Yeah, you know me: not to the death. Not even to the pain. But whatever, I still think the theory holds.)

*though if you decide to do that, I support your choice**and if you agree, but don't want that money to have come from you, I can't argue with that either

Call me a pessimist, but I'd be willing to bet that every company I support financially does things I wouldn't approve of with the money. I can't control that. I try to be responsible and aware up to a point*, but I simply can't deal with getting into it very deeply. I can hardly handle all the everyday tasks of life without giving up and reading instead.

*I spend more at Trader Joe's than at Walmart, do I get credit for that? Watch, it will turn out that TJs is secretly supporting Al Qaeda or something. I can't win, is my feeling, and I haven't the energy to try. Trying to be perfect would keep me from ever getting anything done, and I come too close to that regularly as it is.

Part the SecondThen, I read a woman's reaction to Anne Rice's recent declaration that she is no longer a Christian, and this woman was essentially saying, "Too bad, because I used to like Anne Rice, but now I can't read her books anymore." And I thought, Hmmm.

When I read a book that I like, it makes me think that I would like the author, too, but that's a theory that doesn't bear much examination. You only learn so much about someone by reading their writing. People are so multi-faceted; there's always more than meets the eye. Maybe I would like the authors of my favorite books, and maybe they'd like me*, but I pretty much guarantee that it wouldn't happen 100% of the time. And that's all right.

*though an awful lot of them are dead, so it's often a moot point

I don't require an author to be a person I would like. I'm okay with liking a book, not its creator.

These days, many authors (like many other people) have blogs, and sometimes they become a way to learn that you don't have that much in common with an author whose books you love.

"Her books are so good, I'm sure I'll love what she writes here ... except ... it's just links to things she's read about ... and not even what she thinks about them ... she's not really writing here, is she?"

And conversely, in at least one case, I enjoy an author's blog much more than her books. What kind of weird is that?

I don't have a nice summation for this. (Do you? Lay it on me.) Sometimes the blog is just for getting things out of my head.

Monday, August 16, 2010

A Little Laugh

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Weekend Report: Craft Day, Couch Day

I'm having a couch day today. I woke around 6 with a headache coming in, so I took something and went back to bed. Now I have that after-feeling that could be part of the headache or could be a result of the meds, who knows? The best example of how I feel is the sentence I spoke a while ago: "I wonder if I have the energy to knit?"

The answer was yes, by the way. I'm swatching for socks, never my favorite thing as I find measuring a swatch baffling. I used three different needle sizes to see which will be the best fit for the yarn and pattern. Confusingly, I got 6.5 stitches to the inch on size 2 needles, 7 on size ones, and ... 7 on size zeroes. That shouldn't be possible, I think. The sections look different, but they measure the same. Usually I love knitting, but this part is a little frustrating. I think I'll take the swatch to my stitch and bitch tomorrow night and see if I'm measuring it right.

I did go to the craft fair yesterday, and had a good time. Before I show you the day, though, I have two unrelated photos of cute to share.

There was a sculpture garden that I enjoyed. For insects, dragonflies are quite nice, don't you think?

Though if they were that size in real life, I would not appreciate it so much.

A peace moose.

Bears in the sun.

These glass masks were very cool.

And I liked this raptor-guy, though he was hard to photograph.

The head-on shot was really weird.

If I had a garden, perhaps...

Other pretty and interesting things for sale, but either out of my price range or space constraints.

I did buy a couple of things, mostly gifts, but in all I had my camera out more than my wallet, which is fine. It was fun to look at everything. Unlike some fairs, everything here is pretty much high-quality craftsmanship. Worth the drive, I think.